


foreclosure.

by speakerryan



Category: Political RPF, Political RPF - 20th-21st c., Political RPF - US 21st c.
Genre: M/M, RIP zodiac campaign, and i.. have ap tests... ..., i wrote this instead of doing homework, or studying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-06-06 07:20:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6744850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/speakerryan/pseuds/speakerryan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The memory of telling Ted that <i>you’re our last hope, you’re the only one who has a chance against Donald</i> replayed in Marco's mind, but that meant nothing now. </p><p>(A Crubio one-shot.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	foreclosure.

**Author's Note:**

> The Indiana primaries, 3 May 2016 — Ted Cruz suspended his campaign, basically ensuring the nomination of Donald Trump as the 2016 GOP presidential nominee.
> 
> This is not reflective of my political views.

It was late into the evening when Marco got the phone call. He felt the vibration in his pocket. 

It had to be Ted. 

He knew it was him without even touching the device. Marco would have called him first, if he had had time, but he had to eat dinner with the family and get his kids to bed — it just happened to slip his mind.

A soft sigh left his lips. He hoped that Ted didn't take it personally.

"Sorry, you know I have to take it,” Marco told Jeanette, assuming she knew who was calling, as he pushed himself up off the couch. He left her the remote with a quick kiss on the cheek. Surely she understood.

Pulling his phone out and hitting answer, he put it to his ear as he walked to his and his wife’s bedroom.

“I know,” Marco uttered before Ted could even begin to speak, stepping into the room. He stood with his back against the door once it was shut. The memory of telling Ted that _you’re our last hope, you’re the only one who has a chance against Donald_ replayed in his mind, but that meant nothing now. 

~~Oh, God, the entire party was left with the God damn reality TV star.~~

“I know, I’m sorry,” Marco repeated, knowing that an apology did not mean a single thing at this point.

Ted pressed his lips together, trying to find something, _anything_ to say. Eventually, he gave a laugh, but it was humorless. “At least I tried.”

And Marco couldn’t help but smile a bit at that. “Yeah. Yeah, you tried, and…and hey,” he paused for a moment, “you did better than Carson, and Bush, and— and even better than myself.” 

A small smile formed on Ted's own face as he shook his head, leaning further back into his chair. "And what a difference that made." The sarcasm was more than obvious.

Marco pinched the bridge of his nose. Was he really going to be difficult? "Don't act like that." 

A pause.

(And Ted briefly thanked God that Heidi offered to read Caroline and Catherine their nightly bedtime story; he couldn't deal with that tonight. He had let the Republican Party — and maybe even the _country_ — down.)

"...Sorry," came his response, quieter than his previous words.

Marco shook his head. "It's fine — don't worry." He cleared his throat. "...It's a shame. ...Really, it is. And—" there was another pause. Marco could hear Ted take in a breath on the other end of the line, "and I know that it's pointless to say now, but I was rooting for you. I... I really was, and surely you know that I didn't publicly endorse you just because it wouldn't make a difference. Kasich, he doesn't matter, and everyone knows that I don't like Dona—"

"No, no," Ted interrupted him, tightening his fingers around his phone. "I know, Marco." He could've sworn that hearing Marco say those words lifted his spirit, though. A bit. Just a _bit_. The suspension still hurt, of _course _it did, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't have doubts about whether or not Marco even liked him enough to fully support him. An idiotic insecurity. "And... I do appreciate it, Marco."__

__The corner of Marco's lips almost twitched into a smile. "Good. That's the point. I'm... I'm glad you do." His gaze turned down to the floor. Who knew this would be depressing to him as well—?_ _

__Once more, silence fell between them. It didn't matter, though; silence between them was no longer painful or awkward, even if their relationship had taken some hits during the race._ _

__It was Ted who spoke up next, this time with a quiet "Thank you." It gave Marco a warm feeling, and Ted could've sworn he heard something similar to a chuckle._ _

__"De nada, por supuesto..." It was almost a whisper, which made Ted bite his lip. He had always liked to hear Marco speak Spanish. Marco opened his mouth to say something more, but he could've sworn he heard the TV switch off. Ah. Jeanette was coming to bed. He whispered a curse, some Cuban slang of some sort, and rubbed his temple. "Ted, I have to go, Jeanette and I need to go to bed."_ _

__Oh, of course, of all times. But, Ted understood. He nodded to himself, giving a wave of his hand (not that Marco could see it, of course). "Yeah. Yeah, right. Goodnight, Marco."_ _

__"Mhm. Goodnight. Tell Heidi hello for me before you head off to bed yourself."_ _

__"Of course—."_ _

__A few more words almost came out of Marco's mouth, but his finger was tapping "end call" before they had a chance to escape._ _

__As the call ended, Ted reached over and poured himself another glass of whiskey; God knew he needed it._ _

__Marco couldn't keep himself from tapping his messages app as he stepped away from the door to let Jeanette enter. He smiled at her to let her know that things were fine (Probably a lie. The Grand Old Party was crumbling, but that was another story for another day.) before he turned away, opening a new text._ _

__[text to: **Cruz, Ted** ] before i go to bed,_ _

__He quickly ran his tongue across his lip, second guessing himself before he went ahead and finished the message._ _

__[text to: **Cruz, Ted** ] before i go to bed, know that i do love you._ _

__Marco hit send and quickly shoved his phone away, walking over to Jeanette and enveloping her in an embrace as if he hadn't just told someone else that he loved them._ _

__Ted's phone vibrated on his thigh and he glanced down. And as his eyes read over that message, it filled him with more consolation than Marco's (mostly hypothetical) support. Letting out a sigh (which, admittedly, had a hint of relief), Ted cruz set his glass down and typed up a response._ _

__[text to: **Rubio, Marco** ] love you too._ _

__The message was sent and he waited for it to say "delivered" before setting his phone down once more. Picking up his whiskey glass, he took a swig._ _

__Here's to giving it a good try._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Translation:  
>  **De nada, por supuesto...** = You're welcome, of course...
> 
>  
> 
> _If you enjoyed, please leave kudos and/or comment! Thank you!_


End file.
